When You're Over Your Head
Today’s Verse:
They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me. Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off. ~Lamentations 3:53-54
In our devotion this morning, Jeremiah is at a tough place in his life. He said, “They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me. Waters flowed over mine head.” He was what we call “over his head” in problems and difficulties. He had all that he could bear. He had no way out. He was at the verge of drowning in his difficulties. He had nowhere to go, and seemingly no one to help. What do you do when you’re over your head?
There is the frightening realization.
Jeremiah was rejected and isolated from everyone. He was cast into a dungeon beneath the palace, and left there to languish and drown. The dungeon was actually a cistern that collected water. As the water entered into the cistern from the rains, it rose to a dangerous level. He really thought that he was going to die in that pit. He felt defeated, and maybe even accepted that he would die sooner than expected. He was scared and feeling hopeless. Are you in a situation where you feel like you are cut off? Are you over your head in discouragement, debt, or disappointment? Do you feel like your world is about to end?
There is the forthright request.
“I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon. Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.” Jeremiah called out to the Lord. God told him, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” We can go to God in prayer when we are over our head. We can pour out our hearts before the Lord, and He hears us. We will never experience the greatness of God for our lives if we do not experience times when we are over our head. When you are over your head, pray specifically and to the point. When you are over your head, pray in faith believing. When you are over your head, pray for God to do something.
There is the faithful remembrance.
“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.” Languishing in that mire led Jeremiah to think about the Lord’s mercies. When we think about His mercies, we realize that God gives us what we can handle. We learn that He giveth more grace. We remember that God loves us and is not forsaking us. We remember that God will make a way where there is no way.
There is the favorable resolution.
“And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison,” Jer. 38:12-13. God used an Ethiopian man named Ebedmelech to rescue Jeremiah. He was lifted out of the miry clay, and given safety once again. Yes, Jeremiah was over his head, but when he got his eyes off of himself and on the Lord, he saw that God had a favorable resolution in God’s timing for him.
We will have times in our life when we are over our head. It is during these tough times that we learn to pray better, draw closer to God, receive more grace, and experience His mercies new every morning. Have faith in God’s power for your life!
Have a faithful God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Proverbs 10-12